Thorns
by InsanityByDefinition
Summary: Pain is unrelenting, unforgiving. Needle-like pricks attacking your body and mind. She wasn't accustomed to it. She didn't want to be. She wanted an escape, a relief. To him, pain is part of the routine. This was nothing. "Better get used to it."
1. Prologue

**Ok, so this story seemed a lot longer on my Microsoft. Nonetheless, at least I know what to expect when uploading. Anywho, hope you enjoy this, and I'll have my pet Tonberry do the disclaimer for me.**

**Tonberry: IBD does not own Yu-Gi-Oh, only Kazuki Takashi does and all copyrights belong to him. As well as Square enix for FF references.**

**IBD: Damn straight, if I did, I'd be rolling in the dough and buy mom that island I promised. ^_^ Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Prologue: Decisions, Decisions<strong>

She shivered.

The cold, frigid air did nothing to pacify the searing pain through her body. In fact, it only made it worse. Her lungs burned as she fought to take deep, calm breaths in order to clear her mind of racing thoughts.

_Everything will be okay_, she thought. _Just focus and stay calm._

She surveyed, or at least attempted to do so, the area of her current surroundings. There she sat inside a musky, dark room somewhat bigger than a cell chained to the wall behind her. Her hands and legs were shackled, but the chains were long enough for her to move at a distance, and for right now, she chose to sit now on the hard, freezing tile floor. A small bed stood to the right; however it seemed too rickety for her tastes and looked ready to collapse if too much weight was placed upon it.

Not that she was calling herself fat or anything.

There was no toilet, of course. She would have to ask permission to be let out on that idea, and even so, someone would nearby to make sure that she didn't try anything stupid. She chuckled darkly at that aspect, knowing full well it was that kind of decision that got her in this position in the first place. Her thoughts drifted to a particular conversation she had some time ago with **him**.

"_If you want out, then I suggest that you leave now. It's gonna get rough after this."_

"_I can handle it," she replied in defiance, her chin held high._

"_Sure about that? Shit is about to the fan, Tèa, and I doubt it'll be solved by a simple duel."_

"_Yes, and stop using crude language," she huffed._

_He chuckled. "Fine, but don't ranting off about how I didn't warn you." He paused, as if in consideration. "You know what? I'd say we should put this agreement on paper."_

"_For what?" she cried incredulously. _

"_It'll serve as proof that you didn't take my warning."_

"_You don't trust my word? Haven't we been down this road?"_

_He sighed, closing his eyes. "Tèa, it's not your word that I doubt; it's the fact that I doubt your __**entourage**__ will trust mine."_

_Heat flushed her cheeks. "Oh."_

"_I only ask one thing, though."_

"_What is it?"_

"_Don't do anything stupid."_

Oh yeah, she's a woman of her word alright.

Tèa shifted in discomfort as the shackles dug deeper into her wrists, causing them to bruise and bleed. Her cerulean eyes adjusted slightly to the darkness in search for anything small enough to pick the lock, the only source of light poured from the beneath the door in a fashion of the "gateway to heaven."

Or, depending on your view, it could be the "gateway to hell."

She could barely suppress the groan from her throat as she found there was nothing that she could use. The emergency bobby pins that she had were in her purse, which was confiscated when they had taken her. A sigh escaped her lips as her head rested against the cool, stone wall. The sound of her breathing was the only thing heard in the room, and while she didn't have a problem with small spaces, Tèa felt the creeping panic of claustrophobia.

This is ridiculous. She was Tèa Gardner, for goodness sakes!

She has been trapped in a cave with no hopes of escaping, only to run into a labyrinth guarded two idiotic rhyming brothers. She scaled the roof of Pegasus' castle in Duelist Kingdom, with Tristan and Ryou, under the suspicion that the creator of duel monsters was cheating. She has been under the influence of mind control, for **many** occasions, by Marik Ishtar in his scheme to destroy Atem and later to take back his body from Yami Marik.

She survived the virtual world by the Big Five and won her own duel against a penguin that nearly made her into an ice sculpture. She rode atop a runaway train in the pharaoh's duel against Weevil, and managed to get away unscathed as it had derailed off the tracks. She has battled mummies, crash landed on an island and battled monsters, witnessed hostile takeovers, and watched what she and the others considered a dear, close friend leave the living to rest in the Afterlife.

Yes, she has done it all, and she'll be damned if she is going to let this keep her down.

No freaking way. Screw that.

With her teeth gritted, her body screamed in protest as she slowly stood against her better judgment. Testing the length of the chain, she started forward in agonizing steps pushing herself to not pass out.

_Keep going. Keep going._

Her steps felt heavy as lead but she continued further. In truth, Tèa thought the door seemed to be moving further away from her, as if at the end of some long corridor that appeared to be close but you couldn't reach it no matter how fast you're going. The only confirmation she got was the pull of the chain, halting her movement.

She smiled. She made it only just a few feet away from the door.

Now, about these shackles…

Tèa cast a weary glance down toward the grey metal cuffs around her wrists. To her shock, the shackles were rust colored nearly eroding with old wear and mistreatment. The links, almost, black, looked ready to break if pulled with enough force. _Hmm… that is a very useful advantage._ Backing a few steps, Tèa mentally prepared herself for her task.

Grabbing the corresponding chains, Tèa spun fully around to face the wall and pulled with a hard yank. She spared a glance over her shoulder, in case she was heard, but nothing happened. Attention fully on her goal, she yanked again and this time added a backwards step with it. The bolt groaned in resistance against each the savage pulls of the prisoner, determined to stay intact.

But the prisoner would not have it. Something **will** break in that room: either her or that damn bolt.

Pull. Yank. Pull, and then yank. Pull and yank. Pulling and some weird tactic of whipping the chain like a whip, then yanking it.

With a ferocious growl emitted from her lips, the rusted chain finally broke under the pressure. She panted heavily, her heart beating rapidly in pure amusement and excitement that not only did she accomplish one part of her goal, but no guards had yet to pick up on what their prisoner was doing.

Good service is hard to find these days.

_One down, three to go_, she thought.

And so, she continued to repeat what she had done earlier. The second chain seemed easier to break as it had more loose links than its twin did. Well, that did it for her hands; all she needs to do now were her feet. Tèa rolled her shoulders, working out the stiffness of her neck as she prepared herself once again.

"What the hell is going on?" cried a muffled voice behind the door.

She froze.

"Ma'am?" another voice responded, confused.

"I heard banging coming from this room. Why the hell are you not watching her like I asked?"

So, someone did hear it._ Crap_.

"I-I'm sorry, m-miss," the other voice, a male one Tèa realized, stammered.

"Get out of my way," the commanding voice hissed.

Instantly, the door opened bathing Tèa in a sea of blinding light. She winced, shielding her eyes with free, but broken cuffed hands. A silhouette stood with authority as one hand rested on the doorknob and the other planted at the hip. It was a female and it dawned on Tèa that she knew who it was.

**Damn.**

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><p><strong>So... what did ya think? Yeah, I know; could be better, but I wrote this on a whim and this is what I got. Give me time people. Now, Tea isn't exactly one of my favorite characters (Tonberry: Then why write about her? ME: because that's how the story WORKS!) but I'm gonna use her... to my amusement and payback (haha). <strong>

**Now... Review! Go ahead, whether it's good or not , it doesn't matter to me! Hell, I'm published! However, if bad, give me constructive criticism and not just an outright insult. Besides, it'll help in the future for other things.**

**I leave with only one question: who's the guy that got Tea in this situation? (Clue: someone you wouldn't expect.)**

**Tonberry: Is it Kaiba?**

**ME: Now, what fun would that be? That's WAY too easy! YugixTeax? Huh, juicy.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alright, I'm back. Now me, sitting on fluffy pink floor pillow, petting my plot bunny with my advisor Tonberry on the side.**

**First, I'd like to thank browneyes730 for the review. Glad to get at least one.**

**browneyes730: **As my first reviewer, though I try not to play favorites this early, I can tell that I'm already gonna like you. To answer your question: No, this isn't a Tèa bashing story. The amusement part will be the chaos in which the gang will endure. I could have sworn I erased the payback part, but apparently not. Tèa acts as neutral character for me, so I'm not really into a bashing story. (Tonberry: We read many though. ME: Shut up) Now Pegasus or Dartz, I thought that was hilarious. Maybe I'll have Dartz appear in a flashback? He was totally bad! My summary does sound like Kaiba after I reread again, but maybe I wanted to give that impression?

**Hope you enjoy this next chapter! Ton-Ton, disclaimer please!**

**Tonberry: IBD does not own Yu-Gi-Oh; she only claim rights to Phoenix, her OC and creation.**

**ME: That's right! No matter how much he reminds me of Axel from KH2! XD**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Kindness and Sticky Situations<strong>

**Six months earlier…**

"Chocolate bar."

"A bag of cookies."

"Two pieces of hard candy."

"One juice box and a box of crackers."

"Hey, there's only four pieces left! And that juice is open!"

"What's ya point?"

"My point being is that half of what you're offering is nearly gone!"

"Yeah? I see only half of a chocolate bar over there. Wanna argue about that, Tristan?"

"That's different; I saved that half for another day."

"How's that any different? You still took a chomp out it!"

Glancing up from the novel she was engrossed in, Tèa turned her attention to the game in front of her. Once again, Joey and Tristan had struck up another game of Go-Fish and, as expected, decided to make things interesting by betting with junk food. Yugi was sitting between the two, looking fairly amused and uneasy at the pair's bickering as he played the peacemaker.

"Guys, calm down, this isn't poker," Yugi joked.

"Yug, Tristan is trying to swindle me out of my winnings here!" Joey cried. "It's about principality and respect."

"But… it's Go Fish," Yugi deadpanned.

"I'm surprised he could say big words," Tristan said.

"What was that?" Joey growled.

"I'm saying since when did you learn to read the dictionary?" Tristan mocked, a hint of laughter threatened to escape.

"You want some of this? Get over here and say that again," the blond challenged, making a show that he was terribly offended.

The two got into it once more, leaving Yugi sweatdropping on the sidelines as he helplessly looked on.

Tèa smiled. It had been too long since they spent some time together like this. It was nearly a full year since Yugi's victory in the Ceremonial duel with the pharaoh, returning him back to the Afterlife. Sure, the gang was sad to see him leave but it had to be done; Atem didn't belong in this world. Afterwards, they returned home and were immediately immersed with their own personal lives and school, barely leaving any room to hang out.

The longtime friends had hopes of spending time together over summer vacation before their last year of school. Unfortunately, no such luck. Domino City had experienced nothing but dark, gloomy skies releasing an onslaught of torrential rains. You couldn't go one block without being drenched like a dog. So, most of the time was spent indoors due to the dreary atmosphere.

So, imagine the giddiness in the fact that all four friends nearly had identical schedules. With only one or two classes separate, the gang had almost all classes and lunch together. Tèa rolled her eyes skyward. The day was perfect, for once, and so they all agreed to enjoy lunch outside. It was nice. The color of baby-blue splashed across the sky with puffy, white clouds passing idly by. She breathed in; it was a lovely adjustment.

Yes, change had indeed taken place, as how they had.

Tristan gained some facial hair along his chin, creating a shadowed and rugged look on him. His body became broader, due to the added muscles of ridiculous exercising, but he still maintained his lean figure. The main thing that stayed the same was his pointed hair with black on top and brown on the bottom.

Joey had the least; only his bangs grew an inch longer, becoming troublesome in covering his eyes. He occasionally had to push them out of the way, but he made no complaints.

Along with Joey, Tèa's hair had grown to where it reached an inch past her shoulders. She had cut her bangs so that it fell as a swoop just over her eyes, covering her left eye every so often. Taking a hand to move said bangs to the side, Yugi's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Tristan, I don't think how many push-ups you can do in your underwear is relevant to this conversation," Yugi mused.

Joey grinned widely, "See? I knew Yug was on my side."

Yugi shook his head, "I'm not on any side, just making a statement."

The blonde's face fell. "You're not turning on me, are ya?"

"Don't bring Yugi into this, even if he's on _my_ side," Tristan taunted.

Yugi groaned; facepalming as the older boys went into a completely unrelated topic. He cast a glance to Tèa.

"A little help here, Tèa?" he pleaded, amethyst eyes begging for assistance.

Tèa shook her head apologetically.

"No way am I getting mixed into that," she admitted, her hands placed as a 'no thank you' gesture. She giggled when he titled his head towards the sky in defeat.

Ah, Yugi, the youngest of the group and the only one who experienced a drastic transformation.

After a few months, he slowly started to inherit a few inches. He was no longer their small friend; though he matched Tèa's height eye-to-eye, he was still smaller in height compared to Joey and Tristan. His baby face had begun to mature, but his innocent wide amethyst eyes remained. His former, high squeaky voice had gone an octave lower, sounding_ just_ a touch near velvet.

In other words, Yugi was beginning to look _and_ sound just like his former dark, Atem.

_Atem…_

She closed her eyes. _No use crying about it now! He's gone with no hope of returning, end of story!_

Still, the simple aspect of that didn't help one bit.

_Stop that! It's done, so stop agonizing over it._

She exhaled trying to make an attempt to soothe her confusing feelings. Opening her eyes, Tèa stared smack into Yugi's concerned ones. She had been so absorbed with her thoughts that she hadn't realized he had moved over to stand right next to her. Lunch was finally over, and now it was time to return to their classes.

"Are you okay, Tèa?" he asked softly, offering her a hand.

She forced a laugh. "I'm fine, just thinking."

Tèa took his hand and was very careful not to stare directly into Yugi's gentle eyes. It was heartbreaking to gaze into them that brought hard feelings to comprehend. She silently wished that he stopped showering such kind gestures on her; she didn't deserve them.

"So, who won the argument this time?" she questioned, hoping to fill the small awkwardness between them.

"They decided to go out for pizza." Yugi raised an amused brow, "The toppings complete with anchovies, peppers, sausage with cheese stuffed crust. Milkshakes on the side with a double Baconator sandwich as a second meal."

Tèa stared with incredulity. "You're not kidding are you?"

Yugi chuckled, "Not in the least. I barely managed to convince them to drop the banana splits."

"That's Joey and Tristan for you," she said. "Men with bottomless pits as stomachs."

Yugi laughed as they walked to catch up with the two. Tristan and Joey stood, waiting patiently for their other peers to show up.

"What's so funny?" Joey asked.

"Oh, nothing, Joey," Tèa answered without a beat. "By the way, did you study for the test in college algebra?"

The faces of Joey and Tristan morphed into looks of horror. You would have thought someone told them zombies were on the attack.

"SAY WHAT? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?" both males shrieked.

Tèa rolled her eyes. "Our teacher has been saying when the test would be for a week, you two."

"Oh, man," Joey whined. "I'm not prepared this. I'm gonna fail!"

"Why didn't you say this earlier, Tèa? You're the responsible one here!" Tristan accused.

"I told you this yesterday," she said, pushing past them to saunter off towards her next class.

Tristan turned to Yugi in desperation. "Did you know about this?"

"She told us again this morning, so I studied a little bit." Yugi replied, walking down the hallway to History. "You two weren't listening when she said it," he reminded them.

As he walked away, he could still hear them.

"Think the teacher will forget?"

"Keep dreaming, Joe. Keep dreaming."

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><p>The day went on as normal and the students of Domino high gathered their things to head home.<p>

As Tèa had predicted, their math teacher, Mr. Tanaka, had a test prepared. As always, Tèa scored high on her test. Yugi scored about little more than average; Joey and Tristan bombed the test, waterfalls of anime tears on their faces.

Dividing polynomials was a crazy concept.

"In what part of my life am I going to need to know how add polynomials?" Joey grunted as he pulled on his sneaker. "Oh yeah," he mocked," 4ab square is the answer needed to figure out how to throw a baseball at the height of 314 feet."

Yugi frowned, "I didn't understand that question either."

His blond companion sighed, "No use of worrying about it now." Shifting his mood as they headed outside, he replied cheerfully, "Hey, I heard the arcade got the Mortal Kombat installment. Wanna check it out later?"

"Yeah, I'm game," Tristan said.

Yugi nodded. "I can stay for a while, and then I have to get back home to help Grandpa with the store."

"Tèa, you up for it?" he asked her, giving a playful smile.

She shook her head. "Sorry, I'm heading out to dance practice."

Joey nodded in understanding. He would never stop Tèa from her passion in life. The group paused at the gates of the school.

"It's cool. We'll catch up later?"

"Yes," she said. "Keep them out of trouble."

Joey puffed out his chest with pride. "Glad to see your faith in me, Tèa."

Tèa laughed as she walked backwards, opposite of the direction the guys were going.

"I was talking to Yugi. With that, she gave a short wave before fully turning around to continue down the sidewalk. She could hear the chuckles from Tristan and Yugi, clearly at Joey's expression.

"What do ya mean by that?" he shouted.

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><p>Standing at the stoplight, Tèa waited patiently for the 'Walk' sign to change. Her smile was still on her lips, replaying the events that happened earlier. It felt like a long time since she's been able to laugh and smile so genuinely.<p>

Then, her smile faded slowly as a frown appeared on her features. A blanket of despair and sadness engulfed her, smothering any existence of previous happiness.

It was times like this that she hated to be alone.

The 'Walk' sign signaled a 'go' and Tèa strolled across the crosswalk deep in thought. She wasn't pleased with having to lie to the guys; there was no dance practice, but that was the one thing she knew they wouldn't question. She hated lying to them, especially since they may have so little time to spend together. Tèa knew that, after graduation, the gang will drift to different paths in life. Who knew when they'll have any free time for each other?

She sighed heavily.

She couldn't be near them. She couldn't bear the laughter at Tristan and Joey's antics. Yugi glancing over at her in humor, worry, and kindness as they watch their hotheaded friends brought a knife of cruelty to her. Her attempts to appear okay, when deep down, she was far from it. Faking smiles and chuckles to cover what she truly felt. _No_, Tèa didn't want to burden them with her problems. She was supposed to be there for them. There was no need to place letdowns in the mix. But the kindness of her friends was like a whip, slashing at her heart unmercifully.

It was a horrible situation and she was trapped in it.

_Too much. Too much. Too much._

She was a horrible friend.

"Oh, what a mess," she murmured to herself. This self-pity is getting her nowhere.

"Oh, man," a man's distressed voice said. "I don't think this is the right street."

Tèa looked up, spotting a young man cross referencing the street sign with a paper in his hand. He seemed lost, which struck Tèa as odd.

"Excuse me," she said politely as she strode over to him. "Do you need any help?"

Up close, Tèa realized that the young man was quite young and handsome. He was at least a head taller than she was with a lean figure. His skin was a golden tanned. The most dominant feature about him was the spiked, flaming red hair highlighted with orange that nearly matched his eyes in his hair and bangs. He wore a solid, white dress shirt unbuttoned over a black t-shirt with washed, black jeans. A messenger's bag was worn across his chest, resting just below his right hip.

He gave a sheepish, pearly grin.

"Yeah, I'm kind of hopeless when it comes to directions. Do you know where I can find S & U Law firm?" he asked, looking back at his paper.

Tèa smiled. "You're not too far off. That building is always hardest to find because it's practically hidden by other buildings."

He groaned. "Great, with my luck I'll end up passing into a portal before I get there."

Tèa laughed sweatdropping. "It's only a few blocks south from here. I can take you myself if you want."

"Really? Thanks, you're a real lifesaver," he said, tawny colored orbs blinking in appreciation.

"No problem. It's in the same direction I'm going," she returned as they started southbound.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this," he replied. "My name is Phoenix Suen, by the way."

"Tèa Gardner. So, is this your first time in Domino City?"

"Not exactly. I've lived here before, but I never actually been in **downtown** Domino. It's been a long time since I walked these streets."

They came and waited a spotlight.

"So, you said you're looking for the S & U law firm. Are you a lawyer or something?" she asked, intrigued with the conversation.

Phoenix shook his head. "Nope, that would require taking **more** school time to accomplish that." He chuckled, "I'm a student teacher and working on my master's degree to become a full time teacher."

"Wow, sounds exciting!" Tèa exclaimed.

The light turned and they crossed the street.

"Yeah. I've been teaching and studying at Shinjuku University," he said with excitement. "I really do enjoy it."

"I can see that. But then, why are you here in Domino?" she asked innocently.

"Legal matters and I know Ryu will have my hide when I show up," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

A voice nagged Tèa in the back of her mind. But Phoenix had such a laidback aura that she completely ignored it.

"Is Ryu your brother?" she probed. She wasn't trying to be nosy, but she did want to know for some reason.

"Nope, nephew," Phoenix responded. "He should be about your age, actually."

Tèa gaped at him openly. "Seriously? How **old** are you exactly?" She clamped her mouth shut instantly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean –"

He smiled, "No worries. I get that a lot whenever I mention it. But I like to think of him as a younger brother, and sometime even I forget I'm his uncle. I'm only twenty-seven." A dreamy look appeared in his eyes as he reminisced. "It'll be nice to see him," he told her. Then he grimaced, "Of course, that is if I survive his punishment, if he has one."

Tèa blinked. "Why would he punish you?"

He ducked his head as he spoke, "Ryu offered to walk with me to the law firm, but I told him I could find it myself. This will seriously give him the obligation of 'I told you so.' Or maybe he'll just attack me with a book."

"I hope I get to see that," she giggled. She laughed even harder at his bewildered expression.

"Both you and him are sadists," he deadpanned, but he grinned all the same.

She waved him off. "I'm sure he'll understand." She paused, "but maybe you should prepare to take cover just in case."

"Maybe I'll just use you as a shield," he beamed wickedly.

"Don't you dare," she gasped in mock shock. "It's not my fault you didn't take his proposal bring you here personally."

He fell to the ground anime style. "My own words used against me."

"You'll be fine," she assured him. "In fact, we're here." She gestured to the building in front of them.

It was a standard building with double glass doors at the entrance. Shrubbery placed under the front two windows on each side. A huge banner displayed the words, _S & U Law Firm_ across the building.

Phoenix checked his watch. "Whew, made it with only two minutes to spare."

"And you didn't even fall through a portal to another dimension," she chided.

"Hey, stranger things can happen," he defended.

_So true_, she thought, remembering those trips to the shadow realm and all the other dangerous adventures.

"And with any hope," Phoenix continued on, "Ryu is probably distracted with homework or some duel monsters tournament."

Wait, what?

That nagging voice returned with warning bells in her mind.

"Your nephew… is a duelist?" she tested the words on her tongue.

Phoenix stood proud, hands on his hip.

"Yep. He's probably not well-known as much as that Yugi Mutou kid, but he's still a recognizable one." he explained. He stopped, musing in thought. "However, he really hasn't been the same person lately," he muttered cryptically.

Tèa lifted a brow; apparently Phoenix didn't expect her to hear that. He glanced back at her, giving off a megawatt smile.

"Gotta go," he said, tapping his watch. 'Have a very important appointment to attend. Later, Tèa!" He took off towards the door, whistling as he went.

"Wait!" she cried. "What's your nephew's name?"

He shouted back over his shoulder, "Ryuzaki!" And he entered through the sliding glass doors.

_No. Freaking. Way._

Even after he was gone, Tèa stood there staring in disbelief, her mouth ajar. Then finally, like a bat out of hell, she tore down the rest of the street by some uncompelled reason.

_Ryuzaki._

This entire time she has talking to the uncle of **Rex Raptor**.

Yep, she was royally screwed.

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><p><strong>AN: Ok, all together now: WHAAAATTT?**

**SURPRISE! It wasn't too eventful, but I hoped you liked it nonetheless. Didn't expect that, did ya?**

** Just to clear some things up I purposely had Phoenix say Rex's japanese name. Note: the Japanese version will only be used by family, and the pet form (Ryu) will be said by Phoenix or someone close. Also, when it comes to that, I'll be using 'Ryuzaki Raptor' because 'Dinosaur Ryuzaki' is a title, not a name (since he's the dino-duelist).**

**Tonberry: So, Raptor is our guy? You probably did that because you're fangirl of his.**

**ME: (puts on t-shirt of Rexy) Fine, I'm a fangirl of his, so what? Don't tell me there aren't others who feel the same because I've seen some. I feel that he's a great character with a lot to offer and I really didn't appreciate how he was dumbed down. So, now, I'm rebuilding his reputation... from a dark side. (hint hint) **

**Tonberry: So, will he be in the story?**

**ME: I'm sure we'll see him... but he won't be the same! Hehe! So, what's going on with Tèa? Lying to her friends and reoccuring despair from our girl? Will Phoenix tell his nephew he met her or will she crash into Rex herself (wink)? Will Rex really beat him with a book? So many questions in all due time.**

**Tonberry: Until next time?**

**ME: Yep! I even know the title of said chapter - Dangerous Encounters! ^_^**

**Review and continue reading! **

**TA TA FOR NOW!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Whoo, I'm back. Sorry this update took so long. Got distracted with the Royal wedding (come on, it was so touching), Osama Bin Laden's sudden death, flooding and tornado warnings, and... the Kentucky Derby, oh yes. By the way, Happy Mother's Day to your moms! Show them you care! Plus, I had the occasional writer's block; I wasn't sure on how to start this chapter.**

**browneyes730: **You bring interesting things to mind. Interesting indeed. But no worries, Tèa will still continue dancing. There just wasn't any plans to do so on that particular day. (But cool that you're a ballerina. I had a teacher who used to be one!) I totally understood your explaination on surprising you guys. I originally had the idea of just a friendship fic, but I may add some romance. Don't worry; there's no pairing of Kaiba and Serenity. As of Rex's age, technically he is around the same age as the gang but he still could be young considering his birthday is December 29th. Besides, the Internet is tricky with determining actual age. (Come on, when you first saw Yugi, doesn't _he_ look like an elementary schooler in the series?) Tèa's anxiety will be explained briefly in this chapter to at least a view of what's worrying her, but it will be explored in depth in future chapters. ^_^

**starlitkoneko:** Welcome to the party and I hope you stay along for the ride!

**ME: Now that's done, time for the disclaimer... again.**

**Tonberry: IBD doesn't own Yu-gi-oh or any of its copyrights.**

**ME: Yep, yep. Only the OCs in this chapter belong to me. **

**Warning: Strong language used in this chapter. Of course.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Dangerous Encounters<strong>

Yugi stifled a yawn, tapping his pencil impatiently to keep himself awake.

The voice of Mr. Kazuki droned on, relaying information that students were barely paying any attention to. Several students had given up the fight to stay awake, and now opted to sleeping instead. Some were just staring blankly at the board, attempting to take in the words written across it; or, just doing something else entirely. Yugi had given up the task of taking notes as the urge of sleep seemed tempting.

_Ugh._ Something about History after lunch doesn't seem to mix well.

Yugi's eyes drifted to the clock hanging above the board. He suppressed a groan in realization that class has only been in session for ten minutes. _Ten minutes?_

Dear god, someone ends this now.

He shifted in his chair to a more comfortable position to bring his mind to focus. In his peripheral, he could see some girls ogling him. They kept giggling to each other while continuously glancing in his direction, hoping to catch his gaze.

He ignored them like before. He's been getting this a lot lately.

"Girls, pay attention," Mr. Kazuki scolded.

They hushed quickly, but continued on quietly when the teacher returned to his lecture. Yugi placed his head in his hand, drowsy eyes to the front. There was a girl in the front row who was diligently scribbling down notes, dutifully alert and on task. Honor student, obviously.

Yugi smiled inwardly as she reminded him of Tèa.

She would have no problem in this situation. Tèa would make sure she had the work, and made certain that the rest of them had it as well. Not that she would let them copy it, but checked to see they attempted it.

"_It doesn't help for you to just copy it. There will come a day that you will need to learn for yourself and_ _you won't have someone to do the work for you,"_ she once told them.

Yugi sighed, switching to a new position again.

This strategy to keep moving wasn't working.

Heavy lids were dangerously close to covering amethyst eyes. Tèa. One of these days, he'll take her out somewhere. Just the two of them.

Maybe… after he takes this short nap.

* * *

><p>"Whoo, I thought that the bell would never ring," Tristan said, relieved.<p>

Joey narrowed his eyes. "Wat da hell are ya complaining about? You just left art."

The bell had just rung for dismissal to sixth period. Joey and Tristan had class opposite each other and are now walking together towards Math to meet with Yugi and Tèa.

Tristan grunted. "If you must know, not everybody enjoys leaving class with paint all over themselves," he said pointedly, gesturing to his uniform. It had splotches of yellow, green, and red paint on his crisp white shirt. Well, at least it used to be. "It took me three washes to get this stuff out last time." Then he added, "Someone's a little grumpy today. What's up?"

Joey groaned, "Three chapters to read and I have to write a two page critical analysis about it! Not to mention studying for a vocabulary test on Monday. It's ridiculous, stupid English."

Tristan nodded in sympathy. "That sucks, man. Especially since it's the weekend."

"Don't remind me," the blonde whined.

"Hey guys!" a voice called out.

Both males turned and were greeted by Yugi coming behind them.

"Yo, Yugi," both answered in unison.

Yugi slightly frowned at Joey's forlorn look. "Something wrong, Joey?"

Joey gave an overdramatic sigh. "It's terrible, Yugi. School is terrible and life is terrible. Whatever happened to the universal agreement to an easy, breezy senior year?" he cried theatrically, his hands on the sides of his head.

The tri-colored duelist raised a brow, directing a look towards Tristan. Tristan rolled his eyes.

"Hey, prima donna, its homework," Tristan replied. "If you have an issue, ask Tèa to help."

Joey looked over at him. "Oh, yeah. I forgot about that."

Yugi stifled his laughs while Tristan sweat dropped.

"Let's just get to class before I end up murdering you," Tristan muttered.

"Aw, come on, you wouldn't do that. Ya** love** me!" Joey teased, earning hysterical laughter from Yugi.

It continued like that until they finally reached the classroom. Yugi filed in first, spotting Tèa in her seat almost immediately. She was seated in the second to last row in the back, positioned next to the window. Her chin rested in her palm as she gazed out the window. The sunlight gave her a warmly glow.

Joey wasted no time getting in his words to her.

"Hey, Tèa! I need the brain of a smart person," he blurted out, occupying the seat front of her.

"So you're admitting that you really are an idiot?" Tristan commented, smirking.

Before the blonde could answer back, Yugi cut in. "Joey needs your help with some English homework," he said, taking the seat across from Tèa.

Tristan nodded, "He's practically dying over it."

Tèa chuckled, causing Yugi to smile at his childhood friend.

"What do you need help with, Joey?" she asked.

As Joey explained his assignment to Tèa, Yugi noticed that Mr. Tanaka had yet to arrive. In any case, this is odd as he's always in there on time, on the dot.

"Where's Mr. Tanaka?" he questioned.

Tèa paused in her discussion with Joey. "His wife went into labor today. He left suddenly, so this period will just be study hall for today since the school isn't able to find a substitute."

All three blinked at her.

"Are you all-knowing or something?" Tristan joked.

"No," she said simply. "Our class president announced it before you came in."

"Son of a biscuit!" Joey exclaimed. "Thank god for the inconvenience of labor. Less homework to worry about."

Tèa narrowed her eyes, smacking the blonde upside the head with her hand. But there was a small smile on her lips. Joey and Tristan chuckled lightly.

"Speaking of which," Tèa said. "You could use this time to read those chapters now instead of having to worry about it later."

Joey frowned. "Like, right now?"

Tèa scowled disapprovingly. "That's what study hall is for, Joey."

"Better do what she says, man." Tristan sniggered.

Joey glared at him, but reluctantly reached for his reading book anyway. In the process, a thick magazine fell out of his bag, landing on the floor in a heap.

"Aw man, I just bought that," he moaned. It wasn't cheap either.

Yugi perked up, "What magazine is that?"

"It's called _Duelist Monthly_. It does articles on duelists and tournaments around the world. It even does some trivia and spreads on duel monster cards," he said, straightening the pages out and closing it. "It's pretty cool."

"Well, hand it over," Tristan responded.

"Say please." The blonde retorted.

"When hell freezes over," the brunette shot back.

"I still don't hear the magic words."

In one swift movement, Tèa plucked the book out of Joey's hands and placed it in Yugi's.

Both males stared in astonishment. Tèa simply shrugged.

"Yugi's been trying to get your attention to see it. Thought I speed things up for him," she remarked, her gaze on the younger boy who sat in amused embarrassment.

Joey rubbed the back of his neck in shame. "Sorry, Yug."

"Yeah, man," Tristan chipped in.

Yugi shook his head, "Don't worry about it and thanks, Tèa."

Tèa nodded absently as Tristan sat sideways in his chair to lean over as Yugi turned the pages. Joey crossed one leg to balance his book in his lap as he got started on his homework. _Joy._ This left Tèa to return to staring out the window once more. She laced her fingers together, creating a bridge to rest her chin on top.

It had been a full week since her encounter with Phoenix. And for reason, it left her on edge for some time. Okay, he was a relative of Rex Raptor, so what?

The irrational part of her mind envisioned him popping out of nowhere, telling her to never go anywhere near his uncle. However, the rational part reasoned that it's _highly_ doubtful that he would even care. Neither Rex nor the gang has ever had pleasant encounters with each other.

No, she shouldn't be worried. But she found herself thinking about absurd things.

_Why exactly is it important to you of how he reacts?_

She shook her head. Maybe it was because she wanted Phoenix to have a happy reunion with a family member without something like 'I ran into your rival's friend. She seems nice,' ruining it.

_Pitiful excuses. Perhaps you just want to revisit the good old days._

Tèa blinked in confusion. Where the hell did that come from?

_Maybe unconsciously you want something to happen. Atem is gone. But Rex __**plus**__ Joey __**equals **__disaster and that brings excitement to you, doesn't it? _The voice turned from inquisitive to a mocking tone.

She gritted her teeth. That makes no sense, why bring Rex of **all** people into the mix? She hasn't seen the runt in over a year.

_Then why are you so riled up about it?_ She swore it was laughing at her. _You're completely terrified over the fact you might love Atem over Yugi. Even when they were separated, you were still confused. _

Blue eyes drifted slowly in Yugi's direction, as if to disprove the voice wrong. It didn't help.

_Raptor_ _provides a distraction for you, something familiar in a sense._

She snorted. Yeah, hatred was what she familiarized with him.

_Ah, but hatred is a strong emotion._

Tèa sat bemused. Since when did the voices in her head started playing devil's advocate?

"Check it out," Tristan said, snapping Tèa out of her reverie. "Mako has become the new regional champion in Tokyo."

Yugi read on, "He won the two day tournament after defeating the four-time regional champion, Jace Price, with a narrow win by destroying his monsters with a trap card."

"Good for him," Tèa spoke up.

Joey surprisingly kept his eyes on the book, but acknowledged the comment by nodding. Tristan turned the page over and nearly catapulted out of his chair. Yugi looked on, amused.

"What?" Joey asked, not lifting his gaze but was curious of whatever the hell Tristan was doing.

Tristan regained his senses. "Weevil Underwood just won a tournament in London."

Finally, Joey raised his eyes up. "Say what? Bug boy's in London?"

Tèa frowned. Why exactly was he in London? It seemed a far way to go just to duel in a tournament.

Yugi scanned the words. "It doesn't say."

The blonde snapped his book shut. "I'm amazed he's actually allowed to duel in one."

Tristan shrugged, "Guess Domino City tournaments weren't enough. But at least, there's one less pest we have to worry about."

_Weevil._ A thought occurred to Tèa, and as much as she wanted to stay quiet to spite that certain little voice, she found herself asking anyway.

"Yugi."

"Yes?" he answered, looking at her.

"Is there anything about Rex by any chance?" she asked softly. Her tone _and_ question in general caught them off guard.

Shock crossed his features, but Yugi complied with her request searching further in the book for the dino-duelist.

"Why do ya ask about him, Tèa?" Joey inquired. It's been awhile since they heard anything about said duelist.

"Just a thought," she stated, her shoulders giving a slight shrug of indifference. Yugi continued through the book until he reached the end. No such luck.

"Sorry, Tèa," Yugi said. "There's nothing in here about him."

She refrained from clicking her tongue.

_Well._

"Okay," she amended. And just for good measures she asked, "What about Mai?"

_That_ question brought a blush across Joey's face.

"W-Why are ya bringing her up?" he uttered incredulously.

The other three smirked, knowing of his feelings towards the blonde. They haven't seen her since the Orichalcos incident, and that unfortunately goes the same for a certain dual-toned duelist.

Tèa muttered under her breath.

Asking Weevil was out of the question, even if she _could_ find him. Phoenix was a no-go either, considering she just met him on the street that fateful afternoon. _Maybe Kaiba knows?_ It is his business to know competitions. However, she needs to ask him alone. But he had no classes with them, much to Joey's relief.

Still, as a top honor student, she has access to many things that even a class president doesn't. Meaning, she knew that he spends sixth period in the library, considering that is his study hall.

_Now, to get there without suspicion…_

"Excuse me, guys," she announced suddenly, getting up from her seat.

They stared with bewildered expressions that she didn't bother looking at. She approached the class president, who was watching over them in place of the teacher. "Restroom," she spoke to him. As she expected he asked no more details and handed her the hall pass. With a pleasant 'thank you,' she left the room.

Luckily, the library and restroom were in the same direction, but opposite ends of the hallway. Tèa made the left detour towards the double doors of the library and entered through them. It was one of her favorite places, mainly because it was quiet. Rows and rows of tall bookshelves filled the room with several chairs and beanbags to sit on spread throughout the front and back. The computers were closer to the wall with the checkout desk on the left end when you enter.

Currently, nobody was there. _Perfect._

Tèa glanced around quickly. Hmm, Kaiba wasn't in the front, so he was possibly – _hopefully_ – in the back. She progressed forward, moving around the bookcases so that the students actually in the library didn't see her. As she continued on, she heard the telltale tapping sound of keys. A laptop, and there was only one person she knew who brought their own.

Sure enough, when she reached the end, there sat Seto Kaiba on the loveseat typing furiously on the keyboard.

"Kaiba."

He paused briefly, as if thinking he heard right and continued typing without looking up.

"Gardner," he said by way of welcome.

"I need to ask you something," she admitted.

"I'm busy here, Gardner. Can it wait?" he replied indifferently.

"No, it can't," she whispered harshly. "I need the location of a duelist."

Kaiba cast cold, blue eyes in her direction. "If Yugi's looking for new competition to duel, he shouldn't send his cheerleader to do it for him," he replied. He smirked, "Besides,_ I'm_ the only one who can truly take his title."

Tèa suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and beat him over the head with that laptop.

"No," she muttered through clenched teeth. She had to refrain from insulting him; otherwise she would've come here for nothing. "I need you to tell me the last place Rex Raptor dueled."

Kaiba lifted a brow, but said nothing. Instead, he typed a few things on his computer. For a moment, Tèa wasn't sure if he even did what she asked until he answered for her.

"Raptor's last duel took place at the Grand Prix. Though that was rather unofficially," he declared. Indeed it was as he and Weevil swapped another duelist out to take his place under a disguise, but was given the chance to duel. Kaiba continued, "But other than that, there are no other new records of his duels."

Tèa stared in disbelief. "None? What about street duels?" _Surely there was something._

"The duel disks given out during the Battle City tournament had GPS chips placed in them to keep track of duelists, right? If he still has that certain one, then Kaiba Corp would know of other duels that are not tournament based," he explained. "His in particular hasn't been active in over a year. He hasn't competed in any other places either. Raptor has been off the grid for some time, Gardner."

_Lovely._

"Oh."

"Anything else?" he drawled. "Perhaps you want me to look for a litter of lost puppies? Or a doghouse for Wheeler?"

A vein popped in her forehead as Tèa pretended not to hear that last remark.

"Nope," she grounded out, spinning on her heel to leave. Because, really, she didn't need the count of first-degree murder of a CEO businessman tarnishing her clean record.

No matter how **much** he deserves it.

Tèa left the library in a huff, mentally and physically slapping herself at her efforts. She could hear the voice in her head laughing at her. Seriously, _it_ was. She snuck out of class under a pretext, practically hunted down Kaiba for information, and got nothing in the end.

_A little anxious to see what he's been up to, huh?_

Tèa scowled in disgust, knowing damn well that's what she wanted to know.

Off the grid? What the hell did _that_ mean?

_Even if you_ _knew what's he been doing, what exactly did you plan to do?_

Tèa carried on her mental tirade when she came back to class, only to find that everybody else was 'off the grid.' They were all clamoring near the windows, observing something that was going on outside. Yugi waved her over when he caught sight of her.

"What's going on?"

Joey spoke before Yugi did. "Just your everyday troublesome gang, creating chaos and mayhem."

Tristan clarified, "There's a group of thugs outside the school grounds making a fuss. Apparently, they must have spray painted something on the gates because security is out there, telling them to leave. I think the leader wasn't too happy about that, so they started throwing glass bottles over the gates."

Yugi nodded. "Security threatened to call the police, but it really didn't do much. The gang resorted to yelling some not-so-nice things."

This is the third time this week this particular group has 'passed by'. And it's not just Domino High that they keep harassing; it's the schools in the **general** area.

Tèa probed, "Anybody knows what gang they belong to?"

Joey observed in thought, "I don't think they are even a part of one. They could be just some punks with nothing more to do than terrorize high schoolers."

The four looked on as a shouting match continued. One member threw another bottle with accurate aim, sending it flying towards one of the windows they stood behind. It crashed below it, however, causing the class to jump back with a collective gasp.

"Shit," Tristan cursed. "Dude can throw, I'll give him that. Gonna kill somebody that way and we're on the _second_ floor."

Joey scowled, "Lowlifes."

"I heard they attacked two students from Providence High yesterday," one student said.

"They attacked another high school just last week, leaving one person hospitalized," another added.

They stood stunned at the information. So these guys are not to be taken lightly.

Yugi examined them closely. Each member wore a black bandana tied either on their wrists or upper arms. At least, they had a way to identify the group if encountered outside of school. Finally, the 'black bandanas' departed from the gates, leaving a sea of broken glass in their wake.

Tèa sighed in relief. "They're gone."

But Yugi wasn't convinced. " I have a feeling it won't be the last time."

Joey and Tristan gave blank expressions.

"Neither do we, Yug," the blonde said slowly. "Not by a long shot."

* * *

><p>"Where is it?" Tèa growled, pulling a dress out of her closet. "How hard is it to find a simple sweater?"<p>

Later that afternoon, the gang decided to visit the Cherry Blossom festival in Domino Park. Joey even mentioned that Serenity would come, which of course prompted Tristan to jump abroad immediately. Said sister, who was now perched on Tèa's bed, looked on as Tèa nearly tore her room apart for the clothing article.

"Maybe it's in the dresser drawers?" Serenity offered.

Tèa spun around. She was dressed in a black tank with a tan skirt appearing peeved and annoyed. Honestly when you don't need something, it's there. But when you actually _need_ it, it goes m.i.a.

"I already checked there," Tèa said. "I swear if mom took it to wear it on her date with dad, I'm throwing it out."

Serenity laughed softly, "Have you checked the laundry room? Maybe you washed it."

Tèa brightened, "Why I didn't think of that, I don't know."

She walked out of the room in hopes of finding that damn sweater. Serenity seized the opportunity to place the rejected clothes back where they belong. Tèa may be organized, but even she can't avoid having an overcrowded closet of clothes. Really, the girl had a lot.

Brushing her long hair off her shoulders, Serenity took in her own apparel. She wore a bright yellow sundress complete with gladiator sandals. Normally this would go great for today, but the temperature has gone down a bit, giving a chill in the air. But she didn't mind; she got to see her big brother today.

"Serenity, you're a genius!" Tèa's voice exclaimed. Serenity turned to spot Tèa wearing a woven, pink off the shoulders sweater. "It was in the dryer, though I don't remember putting in there," she said, putting her suede boots on.

"The smallest things elude us," Serenity advised. Maybe Tèa's mom did wear it? Huh, better not bring that up.

"True," her older friend sighed. She grabbed her purse, "Ready to go? I'm sure those two knuckleheads want to get to the food stands as fast as possible."

Serenity just laughed, following Tèa out of the apartment. It didn't take long to meet up with the guys as they met halfway.

"Finally!" Joey complained. "Thought you would never get here!" He was dressed in a blue football Jersey with a white shirt underneath, and jeans on top white tennis shoes.

"Girls take forever to dress, Joe," Tristan reprimanded him, wearing his red and black biker jacket, washed jeans and a plain black shirt.

"Gee thanks," Tèa said sarcastically, "You guys look nice, too."

"You two look great," Yugi replied genuinely. He opted for his black muscle shirt with leather pants, his belts crisscrossing. He donned a black hoodie that was zipped up halfway.

"Thank you, Yugi. It's good to know at least one of you is a gentleman," Tèa responded.

The other males looked dubious at her comment.

"Hey, we can be gentleman if we wanna be," Joey cried.

"Sure you can," Tèa deadpanned. "Chewing with your mouth open full of food shows off your polite manners."

Serenity burst into laughs, hugging her brother around the torso. Joey rubbed the back of his head, but embraced his sister.

"Alright, I get it," Joey grinned sheepishly. "Can we go now?"

They all nodded and headed off. Well, Tèa, Yugi, and Tristan did; Joey grabbed his sister's hand and took off like a cheetah, leaving a trail of laughter coming from both of them. Tristan deadpanned and chased after them, calling Joey everything from 'idiot' to 'hogging Serenity to himself.'

Yugi grinned. "Well, at least somebody's happy."

Tèa could help but smile as well.

Domino Park was filled with numerous booths and rides of entertainment. A huge crowd of people gazed on in wonder, excited to be outside for once. Little kids played games to get the biggest stuffed animals. Couples strolled through, sharing snacks with another. Even families, who decided to watch the puppet show, snickered at the fox puppet playing a trick on the dog.

Yugi and Tèa went on the Ferris wheel, waving at their friends who watched down below them. Joey and Tristan played a few games, handing their winnings to Serenity. They saw Duke there, who set up a kissing booth that didn't surprise them in the least, but ticked off Tristan when Duke offered a special kiss to Serenity. Joey only threatened to tear him _and_ the booth down if he tries it.

Joey entered a pie eating contest, which left Tèa in disgust as he scarfed down ten pies. He didn't win; however, he was more concerned that they weren't 'filling' enough. Whatever that means.

Tristan went to try his strength at the 'hammer' game (**A/N: what is that game called?).** It hit the bell with a satisfied _ding_. Joey whooped in encouragement as Yugi stepped up and actually succeeded as well. A round of applause burst from the group as Yugi took his prize in shy embarrassment.

It occurred to Yugi that Tèa had yet to be given a prize, since Serenity had an overload to toys on her. So he momentarily left the group to play another game, winning a cute Hello Kitty stuffed toy.

"Is there something you want to tell us, Yug?" Joey smirked at the sight of the cat as Yugi returned.

Yugi smirked back slyly, "Yep; that your sister and Tristan are going off on an unsupervised date."

The blonde spun around, glaring in annoyance and horror that the two were further away.

"Hey, get back here!" he bellowed, chasing after them like a parent catching their child doing something wrong.

Tèa rolled her eyes at the scene as Yugi handed her the stuffed animal.

"Here you go, Tèa," Yugi murmured quietly, a blush on his cheeks.

She smiled softly, holding the toy to her chest. "Thank you, Yugi."

_This was nice, being here together._

Before Yugi could get another word in, a small child walked up to them. "Woah, Yugi Mutou! Can I have your autograph?" he asked, holding up a pen and paper to sign.

Yugi spared a glance to Tèa, but she didn't mind. He was the King of Games; it was to be expected. As he turned to sign it, several more children gathered around eager to have him autograph something of theirs. Yugi chuckled, coaxing that he'll get to them one at a time.

Tèa watched on patiently, smoothing down the faux fur of the Hello Kitty.

_Yugi is so sweet and great with little kids._

She laughed quietly when a girl wanted to touch his hair. He sweat dropped, but leaned down to let her do so. At last, he finished signing all of them.

"Whew, that's the last of it," Yugi breathed, flexing his hand.

"Careful, I think you might have some hairdressers coming in your future," she joked.

"I think I'll just stick to kids for now," he laughed. .

A loud _crash_ caught their attention. Two girls stood huddled together as they watched their booth get torn down by a group of thugs. They threw the pieces all over as bystanders moved to see what was going on. Yugi recognized them right away; the 'black bandanas' from earlier.

"Yugi, it's them," he heard Tèa whisper. He nodded in agreement, keeping his gaze on the scene before them.

"Don't have a booth to scam people out of their money, do ya?" one thug sneered.

One girl shook her head and Yugi realized that both were from Domino High.

"You lost fair and square!" the girl, Tori, squeaked.

"That game was rigged, bitch!" the thug snarled at her. Tori cowered behind her friend, Aki, who didn't take the name calling lightly.

"Jerk, maybe you're just a bad player!" Aki snapped hotly. "You threw the ball nowhere near the bottles. You're nothing but a sore loser!"

The guy curled his hands into fists and Yugi sprang into action before things went any further.

"Tori, Aki, what happened?" Yugi questioned the two.

Aki sighed in relief as the thug looked down on Yugi like he was common trash.

"This punk and his pals destroyed our booth because he lost the game," Aki explained.

"Yugi, it's not safe here," Tori whispered urgently.

Yugi just kept his eyes on the thug in front. "Aki said you lost. You should leave," he regarded him coldly.

The leader sneered, "Who the **hell** are you?"

"Boss, that's Yugi Mutou, the King of Games," one of his followers answered for him.

"This scrawny _kid_ is the King of Games?" the leader snorted. "I don't believe it."

"Ya should," Joey's voice drifted into the conversation. He and Tristan flanked either side of Yugi. "Yug's the best, so show some respect."

"Tèa, please move Aki and Tori away please," Yugi requested.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she pulled the girls away to a safer distance. Serenity came and stood with her, seemingly apprehensive of what's to come. The three males stood off against the gang. The leader not looking the least bit pleased, but still had a cocky smile on his lips.

Six against three was the advantage they had.

Tèa scowled. Now_ this_ wasn't a fair game.

A minion of the gang directed his attention to the crowd, looking slightly jolted for a moment. He nudged the leader, gaining a glare from him. The young man ducked his head but gestured further out in the crowd. The leader leered past Yugi, Joey, and Tristan.

Tèa frowned. _What in the world was he staring at?_

Whatever it was, it was enough to wipe the smile off his face. He swore under his breath.

"It seems you lucked out today," their leader scoffed. "Boys, let's go." With that, they left the premises. And on a strange note, a few kept looking back with anxiety written on their faces.

Yugi, Tristan, and Joey exchanged glances. They made their way towards the girls.

"Man, what a buzz kill," Joey snorted.

"Wonder what changed his mind," Yugi said aloud.

"Thank god for whatever it was," Tèa sighed.

"Do you need help rebuilding your booth?" Tristan questioned Aki and Tori.

Both shook their heads. "Nope, it's almost time to leave anyway," Aki said, gazing at the dark sky. "Beats staying here to take it down." Tori nodded.

Serenity placed a hand over her mouth as she yawned. "It is late," she said sleepily.

"Let's head out or else I'd hear an earful from ma," Joey suggested, putting an arm around his younger sister's shoulders. Tèa noticed that she was wearing Tristan's biker jacket, but she didn't say anything. The same went for Tristan and Joey.

They all walked together until it was time to depart. Joey and Serenity headed off in one direction; Serenity promising she would return the jacket. Yugi and Tristan escorted Tèa to her street after she finally convinced both males she was capable of walking the distance alone. But Yugi insisted on watching until she reached one block of her house. Tèa giggled, but played her part waving back at him when she came to the one block radius.

He smiled with content, returning the gesture as he disappeared with Tristan.

She strolled towards the apartment building when the sounds of distress reached her ears. She paused, making sure she heard correctly. Indeed she was, as somebody raced past her from the alleyway as if fleeing in fear. Bewildered, she recognized him as one of the men from the park.

In fact, peeking around the corner, she saw that the whole group was there. Her mouth dropped as the members were on the ground, moaning in pain or plainly passed out. There were three new males and obviously they're the ones delivering the punishment. The street lamp illuminated orange light over them.

"Think they had enough?" a blue-haired male asked. He stared at two thugs slumped against the wall.

His companion shook his head, black cropped hair flailing left and right as he scanned over three bodies.

"I think they could use a little more persuasion to catch our meaning," he replied, amused. "Their leader likes to run his mouth a lot."

Tèa and both males glanced towards said leader. The 'boss' as he was called was unconscious on the ground with the third male crouching over him. As if inspecting to be sure that he wasn't faking it. The hood from his jacket obscured his face from Tèa's view.

"I'd say we put them out permanently," the blue-haired boy said.

"That puts blood on our hands, Azure," his friend admonished. "That's not what we're here for."

Azure growled, "These punks are attacking us and our friends, Nic. What do you want, a peace treaty?"

Nic released an exasperated sigh, turning to the hooded male. "What say you?"

The figure gave a snort of disgust as he stood up. Tèa marveled at his tall frame; he's probably at least Kaiba's height.

"I don't care what happens to them or where they go," his deep voice responded. "As long as they leave the damn city and everybody else alone."

Azure smirked, "See? Raptor agrees with me."

Time seemed to stand still as a gasp escaped her lips. _Rex?_ No, it couldn't be. The height, not to mention the **voice**, didn't match at all. Maybe it was another family relative? And damn her luck because Azure heard her.

"Well, looks like we have an audience," he leered. Nic darted his gaze in her direction. Though she needed to, Tèa didn't care about the other two knowing her presence. She needed to know if the Raptor _in question_ is indeed who she thought. Azure took a few steps forward.

"It's a chick," he confirmed.

"What now?" Nic inquired, directing his question to nobody in particular.

"She's harmless," was the answer.

Azure snapped his head back to them. "You know her?"

A shrug. "By personal experience, yes. She's just a cheerleader."

Tèa bristled at the comment. "_Excuse me_?" she cried angrily.

Nic raised a brow, "She doesn't look a harmless cheerleader to me."

Azure grinned, "Spunky. I like that."

Tèa bit back a retort as Azure was pulled back by his shirt and pushed near Nic.

"We're done here," came a reply. "We've overstayed our welcome."

The blue-haired accomplice grumbled but said nothing more. He and Nic hiked down the alley. Tèa then took her chance to pull at the hood while the taller male's back was turned. In slow motion, brown hair was revealed.

"Rex?" she demanded.

Brown hair proved nothing. She knows **lots** of people with brown hair. Slowly, he spared a glance over his shoulder giving the view of long, purple bangs in need of a cut. Her grip weakened; it _was_ Rex.

"Go home, Gardner," he spoke to her. Then he turned his body halfway around to face her. "By the way, you _never_ saw me."

And without another word, he strolled in the direction of his friends, disappearing in the darkness.

Tèa stood dumbfounded. She had found the duelist she had been searching for. The duelist whom she hunted desperately for – for no apparent reason mind you – she finally found.

Only to let him slip from her grasp. _Ugh._

"_However, he really hasn't been the same person lately,"_ as Phoenix's words drifted in her thoughts.

A crazed laugh dripped through her lips. That was an understatement.

_So, what now?_

Rex came and went. There was nothing more she can do. Was there? The voice popped into awareness, _screw it. Go after him, stupid!_

Tèa powered walked home, having only one idea in her mind. For reasons unknown, she was going hunting… for a Raptor.

Yes, she has truly gone off the deep end… and saw _no_ problem with it.

* * *

><p><strong>IBD: Wow, 17 pages of this stuff. But Rex made an appearance! :) Alright, it was brief, but we'll see moar of Rex and his new...self later. That's right, I said MOAR. I had different endings to this chapter, but I'll settle for this one. Going hunting for a Raptor, Tèa? I agree with the crazed voice in her head: go for it! Come on, admit it, you enjoyed reading Tèa go 'James Bond' for a moment. <strong>

**Tonberry: So what's with her obsession with Rex?**

**ME: I'll explain: ever had that moment where you know you shouldn't look into something but you look anyway? It's like that in case Tèa's pursuits were confusing. (I thought it was funny) The case of curiousity strikes again! And what will she get? I know, but I won't tell you.**

**Tonberry: Devilish woman.**

**ME: This is why it's fun being the author for once, but I will give a small spoiler. Tèa and Rex WILL meet in the next chapter... by force. Of what? Haha, you'll see.**

**Keep reviewing! Ta Ta For Now!**

**IBD**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Didn't think the last chapter would receive high reviews. Huh, well thank you. On that note, I want to say thank GOD this one is up. It was more awkward for me than the characters. This one gave me so much grief of inspired writing, then writer's block. Then typing and erasing. Typing. Erasing. You get the point. I see that we're all still HERE (May 21st, judgment day - that's BS). I do send prayers to those hit by tornadoes because, really, what the hell is going on with the weather?**

**browneyes730: **Oh no, I LOVE your questions. It feels as if a friend is reading it and going *hmm... I like this... haha yeah... what?... oh... huh... no...wait...THE HELL?(grabs me) YOU DARE GIVE ME A CLIFFHANGER?* Heehe! The questions help me to keep on track. But, oh yes, major conflict for Tèa and it will get juicy. I will address her issue at some gangs are just the appetizer (they help move the story along before we get to the REAL story). Phoenix will pop up; he's the lifeline. *wink* Hehe.

**Finally, a confrontation of Tèa and Rex. Woo! Hopefully you enjoy it better than when I wrote it (which was redone countlessly). A lot of italics and bold in this one too. -_-**

**ME: Tonberry, disclaimer please!**

**Tonberry: IBD doesn't own Yu-gi-oh! or its copyrights. She owns only the plotline and OCs.**

**ME: Right.**

**Italics: emphasis; thoughts**

**Bold: loud emphasis**

**Warning: Mild language. From Rex's mouth, where else?**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three: Rain is Lady Luck in Disguise<strong>

Saturdays.

A day that you can be carefree and relaxed without anyone thinking you're lazy for doing nothing. A day that hardworking people think about to let loose after work. And a day that all teenagers thank God for after a week of school consisting of sweating over tests, bloody essay papers, and tears of joy at the possible absent teacher.

Yep, it was Saturday, and Tèa was using hers as a day of production and preparation.

It was only two in the afternoon and she had already done her chores, gone to the dance studio for some down time, popped in for a quick 'hi' to Yugi, _and_ just finished hitting five stores in the mall. A busy girl, but for a qualified purpose. Dressed in a baby blue polo shirt trimmed in white and black shorts, Tèa exited the store with shopping bags in each hand. Her polka dot rain boots squeaked as she walked down the large corridor ready to vacate the building.

Now that the personal tasks were done, it was time to get the real goal at hand. Today, she was a girl on a mission, or rather, a _hunt_ per say. The problem was of where to begin exactly.

A young man crossed her direction, nearly colliding with her as he left the electronics store.

"Sorry," he apologized and promptly continued on across the pathway.

Exhaling a breath she didn't realize she was holding, Tèa moved on towards the front exit. She sighed deeply. This has become a continuous habit of hers that day. Any stranger she happened to run into, she adamantly observed him hoping to see if it was in fact _him_. The same person she encountered just yards from her own house in the alley last night.

And speaking of those from the alley that night…

Tèa paused, a few feet away from the food court. There, she identified a small group of four boys horsing around in line. The first three she didn't recognize, but she did know the fourth boy. Her eyes widened a fraction, scanning over his blue hair. _Azure._ Oh, just lovely, and no certain someone to serve as interference. They only met once and Tèa could tell she _didn't_ like him. Contemplating of walking past and risk being seen, Tèa headed towards the east side of the mall (**A/N: because we all know how many exits a mall has**).

Vacating, she relished in what little of the sun's warmth provided. Its brightness dimmed, Tèa left her oversized sunglasses remaining tightly on top the crown of her head. She didn't feel the least bothered of being on the other side of the building; instead, she actually took a longer route home. Why hurry when she had so much time on her hands? Besides, it worked for two reasons: it lead her through central Domino and gave her time to think.

Yes. About. _Rex. Raptor._

The concept baffled her, but she couldn't get over her intrigue for the dino-duelist. She called herself silly in her mind yet the fact remained that she brooded over this for the past two weeks. She actively hunted for any information to go by in locating him, only to come up empty.

Their little run-in gave Tèa hope that she could still find him, even if by accident and that he didn't vanish without anybody knowing. However, this brought a new playing ground. Rex wasn't the same as she remembered; hell no, he freaking_ grew_. So, literally, that placed him and half of the Domino population in the pool of tall, potential males to search.

Tèa never realized how _many_ tall guys this city had until today.

Not to mention, as Kaiba had told her, that Rex hasn't dueled in a while. So, technically, does that mean he's no longer the dino-duelist? He was proud of that title, and she wondered why exactly did he stop?

Tèa groaned. There were too many questions rambling in her brain only of which he could answer. _If he would do that_, she hoped.

Coming into the square of town, Tèa took a seat on a bench. The view of a large fountain pumping a tower of water in the air was in her line of vision. Children with small boats sailed their toys in the water, running around the sides to follow them. Much to her surprise, the square was actually populated with people. Shops and cafés overflowed with customers.

Rubbing her face, Tèa leaned back. She dazed off in thought.

_Where in the world to start?_

Tèa supposed she could visit the museum as there are dinosaur bones to look at. Maybe Rex goes there often? Well, it wouldn't hurt to look and probably the staff may have seen him there as well. Her heart swelled with confidence in that idea. _But what after that?_

The Spider Arcade could work. Tèa considered this simply because, well, Rex is **male** and that's what they do. Guys and videogames go hand in hand. Cool, another place to add to the list. She contemplated on asking Azure and his goons, but in honesty she really didn't want to. Not unless she could actually identify Rex in the group.

Now she was stuck. Since she doesn't know Rex _**personally**_ – aside from the duels between him and Joey – she barely had anything to go by. Tèa sighed aloud. If luck would have it, a family member will bump into her perchance?

Tèa snorted. That would seriously be a huge gamble.

_But the dice is in your hand, Tèa. All you have to do is roll them._

Tèa tilted her head slightly in annoyance. If she had a tiny angel and devil on her shoulder, **that **voice would definitely be the devil. Unfortunately, it had a point. Tèa isn't one to take a risk, but the past adventures that she and the gang went through taught her that sometimes risks need to be taken.

In this case, she had a chance to either gain something or lose in disaster.

Focusing her gaze forward, she watched as two teenage girls approached in the fountain. They talked animatedly, pausing briefly to toss silver coins in the water. _Just like making a wish in a wishing fountain._

The universe must be telling her something.

Taking a note from Joey's theory, Tèa decided to take her chance with lady luck. While keeping an eye on her bags, she fished out a quarter from her pocket as she came to the water fixture. Flipping the coin expertly in the air, she made a silent wish as it traveled down and broke through the water's surface with a _plop_.

She wasn't expecting it to magically come true right then and there, but she did have a sinking feeling in her gut all of a sudden.

Unnerved, she shook it off and returned to the bench to gather her things and leave. Something wet splashed on her nose bringing her attention skyward. Tèa narrowed her eyes at the daunting view of gray clouds, wiping the water off. Stupid meteorologist, they said _nothing_ about rain today.

Carrying on, Tèa walked with a scowl on her face, ignoring the weather all together. If the rain was a person, she would slap it. _**Hard**_.

In the distance, she saw a figure heading away in her direction. She blinked. A black jacket. Jeans. And best of all, the person was tall. Okay, that wasn't a lot to go by but that didn't keep her legs from moving after the figure.

Yes, she's chasing after random people. We already discussed this.

Everything was a blur as she raced down the sidewalk – while carrying six shopping bags **(A/N: Woo, supergirl!).** Thankfully, the spotlight turned green by the time she got there to catch up. The person stood with hands in their pockets, waiting patiently. She skipped up to him.

"Excuse me," she said breathlessly. He turned to her fully. A blonde. It wasn't Rex, go figure.

"Yes?" he asked, roaming his eyes over her greedily.

Tèa shook her apologetically. "Sorry, thought you were someone I knew." She left quickly and with a pang of disappointment. Running after random strangers wasn't going to work. It only made her tired and seems like as a crazy person. "A little help would be nice," she muttered.

As if in answer, the _crack_ of thunder echoed in the sky…

And where there's thunder, it's usually followed by…

**Rain.**

Tèa yelped as a downpour – no, a _freaking_ waterfall – of rain dropped out of the sky. The water was freezing. It was coming down in sheets and none too kindly. Within in a matter of minutes, Tèa was soaked to the bone dashing for shelter from the rainstorm. Everybody had that same idea as people scrambled for cover by either heading home or closing up shop.

Tèa was too far away from her house and there were no open places around her. Luckily, she found refuge by a garage. The long rectangular roof over the open door shielded her from the rain. Sopping wet, Tèa glanced around inside noticing the empty wooden crates stacked around. The garage looked abandoned but that it didn't that it was.

She opted to sitting on the stray crate just outside the door. In case she needed to escape route; one may never know. Her body trembled from the cold, teeth chattering violently. Her shirt clung to her chest as rivulets of water dropped from her hair. She figured she _could_ change into the clothes she bought, seeing that the items had somehow managed to stay dry.

But you never know who might pop around the corner to see her undress. And this was not the place to do that.

The howling wind swirled around. Tèa wrapped her arms around her body to help bring some warmth. The once gray sky had turned completely black, giving the illusion that it was nighttime in the daytime. The repetitious pitter-patter of droplets was the only thing that kept her company. She flinched when hearing the thunderous crack in the atmosphere.

_Rain may be great, but it has the worst timing ever._

She bounced her leg impatiently, waiting for the deluge to let up. For the moment, it didn't look promising. Not that she had a phobia for thunderstorms, it was just they always made her nervous. She flinched again after it clapped and then let out a cry when it delivered a heavy _BOOM._

Okay, forget nervous, the girl was on edge.

"Jumpy much?" Tèa screamed, nearly jumping five feet in the air. She whirled around quickly at the source of that voice, liquid flying from her wet stringy hair. Shocked blue eyes met aloof brown ones. There, lo and behold, stood Rex Raptor leaning against the garage doorway.

_Where exactly did he come from?_

"Where did you come from?" Tèa voiced her thoughts. She was bewildered at his sudden appearance and annoyed at herself for not hearing him in the first place.

"Inside the garage," was his response. Cue mental slap for Tèa.

She huffed. "Yeah, I see that. Nobody was in there when I checked it earlier."

"Then you obviously didn't checked hard_ enough_," he stated simply. His tone was neutral, but the implied sarcasm at her mistake was obvious. She scowled. He paid no attention to it. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're stalking me."

She scoffed, crossing her arms under her chest. "No one is stalking you." She had been searching for him, yes, but he doesn't need to know that. Stalking and looking are two different things, right? Funny how the person in question made her realize that at this moment.

She secretly studied him. As before, his tall frame towered over hers, even while inclined against the doorframe. His body filled out; muscle evident in his lean physique underneath the hooded black shirt he wore with a unbuttoned flannel shirt over it, sleeves pushed up to his elbow. He sported a black cuff bracelet on his right wrist, hands shoved into pockets. Wide, brown eyes held a mischievous glint along with something else Tèa couldn't describe. The most prominent feature was the long, amethyst bangs that had been brushed backwards, giving the appearance of purple streaks on top of his brown hair. In which happened to be….

"Oh my god, your hair!" she gasped. How she failed to see this earlier was beyond her. His infamous long, shaggy hair had been cut **short** to where it rested along his neck, _barely_ touching his broad shoulders. It was straight yet messy in a casual way like he rolled out of bed that way.

Rex stared in confusion. Slowly, understanding showed on his face. He rolled his eyes. "Yes, my hair is shorter. Surprise," he drawled sardonically.

Tèa ignored that comment. "Why did you cut it?"

His lips curled up into a half-snarl. "It wasn't by choice, _I assure you_." Rex said tightly. His deep voice possessed a rough edge in that sentence. Tèa groaned inwardly. Her image of past and present Rex conflicted too greatly.

Awkward silence stretched between the brunettes for some time. The echoes of rainwater and thunder reigned throughout. Tèa felt at odds, struggling with her thoughts. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Even if it was, what exactly made her think that Rex wanted to be a part of… whatever she was doing. She shook her head. She'd come so far. Glancing at Rex, Tèa realized she should give it a shot. Persistence is a virtue.

_Let's start with something familiar._

"Where's your other half?" she asked boldly. Her tone was teasing, but to Rex's ears, it sounded accusing.

"Where's your entourage?" he retorted. "The way the four of you roll around, you should be _sewn_ together at hip."

Tèa's eye twitched at his remark. Yeah, should've seen that one coming.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped.

"It means that one of you is not too far off from another," he mocked. "It's like you dorks transmit a signal so that you all can keep track of each other if one happens to stray from the group." A smug smirk formed on his lips. "Just. _Like_. **Ducklings**."

Her jaw dropped. She didn't appreciate it when_ Mai_ called them that at Duelist Kingdom and still doesn't appreciate it now coming from _him_. Her hands clenched into fists.

"If I recall you and Weevil weren't too far off from each other," she returned spitting mad. "In fact, the two of you plotted together to come after Yugi and Joey!"

Rex seemed unfazed, as if he expected her to say that. "Despite what you think, your friends are not the center of our worlds, Gardner." His weary tone made it sound like he discussed this way too many times. "I'm no longer in the dueling circuit _anyway_. So you can tell Yugi and Wheeler they have nothing to worry about from me."

"Why not?" she asked apprehensively.

Rex frowned, for once looking uncertain. "Early retirement," he lied.

"What? Rex Raptor the Dino-duelist calls it quits?" Tèa stated incredulously. "You can't be serious!" She gazed in shock as his face crumbled. Brown orbs took on a dull, haunted look. He looked _terrified_ and it frightened the hell out of _**her**_. And if she wasn't so close, she would've missed the small hitch in his breathing. "Rex?"

And as quickly as it appeared, his frightened expression turned neutral and composed.

"It's complicated," he responded roughly. "'Sides, no one will miss me."

She winced. He said so subtly it was scary.

"Don't say that," she whispered. _**Everyone**__ is missed by __**somebody.**_

She shivered slightly, not knowing whether it was her semi damp clothes or the effect his words had on her. She rubbed her arms. A crash of boxes inside the garage caught her attention. Tèa turned just in time to see Rex tossing aside one container to look in another.

"What are you doing?" she questioned.

"What I came to do in the first place," Rex said. "My boss shipped his supplies to another place and he wants to be sure that everything is gone." He carelessly tipped one stack over with the tip of his shoe.

"Shouldn't your boss do that himself?" Tèa asked. Rex shook his head.

"My boss is lazy," he replied. "I think he sent me because he's afraid to come out here himself. This area is known for gang activity." Rex surveyed the space around him, scowling in distaste. The garage, if you could call it that, was barren with nothing but crates and a thick layer of dust. He rolled his eyes.

Yeah, his boss was useless.

Tèa tensed. "Gangs? Does that include yours?" To her surprise, he laughed.

"I don't have nor am I in a gang," Rex clarified. "I just have _personal business_ with a certain leader." Picking up a spray can, he pressed down the nozzle releasing black paint on the wall. Tèa raised a brow. He seemed to be doing this rather **professionally**.

"Vandalism, Rex?" Tèa inquired. "You do realize that's against the law, right?"

Rex glanced over his shoulder, freezing the can in midair. He grinned wickedly, "You call it vandalism. I call it putting something artistic on a plain, boring wall." He tried the can again, but nothing came out this time. He frowned, shrugging it off. Tossing the can in the back, he said, "The boss won't know the difference. He'll just blame it on delinquents considering the lock is easy to pick."

Tèa stepped back as he ducked under the door to effortlessly pull it down. The metal door hit the ground with a dull thud. "How do you know the lock is easy to pick?" Tèa stated suspiciously. "Unless you picked it before…" He met her gaze.

"Please, Gardner. I haven't the slightest idea of what you're talking about," Rex remarked slyly. His eyes, full of laughter, told her differently. Tèa vaguely wondered what Rex really _does_ in his spare time. A flash of lightning illuminated them briefly in white light. Tèa winced as Rex glared at the curtain of water flowing over the roof. "God, why is it always raining?"

Tèa smiled grimly. At least that was something they had in common.

"I take it you don't like rain." Rex snorted.

"Hell no, I despise it entirely. I have to work in that on my shift if it keeps up," he grumbled tugging the sleeves of his shirt down. He continued, "And if that's the case, I'm seriously wearing my hoodie. I'll be damned if I get fired _and_ end up getting sick. Here," he held out the shirt to her. Tèa stared in surprise.

"Why are you giving your shirt?" she asked dumbly. Rex huffed at her stupidity.

"Because you're shaking like a leaf and I won't have your death from hypothermia on my conscious," he answered. "I'll raise you from the dead _myself_ if I have to hear Wheeler's mouth about it."

Tèa understood his hidden message in that and graciously took the shirt. It was a bit oversized and hung loosely on her figure, reaching to her thighs. Her black shorts peeked a little underneath giving the illusion that his flannel shirt was the only thing she came out in. She blushed.

"Are you sure you'll be fine it that?" She pointed to his black shirt he was left in.

"It has a hood. I'll live," he said offhandedly. Jamming his hands into his jeans, Rex moved forward several steps and leaned heavily onto the support beam. Tèa returned back to the crates she sat on earlier, exhausted. Chin in her hand, she gazed on the sideways view of him. His constant change of moods made it hard for Tèa to keep up.

One minute he's calm, the next furious, only to be playful right after. Rex was more confusing than Kaiba, and **that's** saying something.

"You've changed," she whispered. She cringed inwardly when brown eyes slid in her direction. She wasn't expecting him to hear that.

"How so?"

She shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "You're just… different from the last time I saw you."

"Heh. Oh yeah? You're different too, cheerleader," he said. Tèa started.

"W-What do you mean?" she stammered. He shrugged.

"Hell if I know. It's not like we hang out with each other beforehand," Rex declared.

"I see."

"Perk up. There's nothing sadder than a depressed cheerleader."

Her temper flared. "I am _NOT_ a depressed cheerleader!" she scolded.

"Ah, so you admit that you _ARE_ a cheerleader," he reprimanded, smirking. She narrowed her eyes, visioning herself slapping him in her mind. The beeping alarm from his back pocket prevented her from speaking. Checking his iPhone, he said, "Time for me to go."

"Go?" All previous anger dissipated quickly. _He can't leave just yet._

"A text from home." He added, "Plus, I have to get to work after I leave." Rex reached behind his back and jerked the hood over his head. "Later."

_Catch him!_

"Wait!" she exclaimed. Rex stopped dead in his tracks, throwing her a 'what now' look. Frantically searching, she uttered the first thing that popped in her head. "What about your shirt?" she said clutching at it. Mentally she slapped herself.

Rex raised a brow in disbelief. "You're kidding right? It's a _shirt_, dammit. Keep it if it's such an issue," he scoffed.

"But…that's not…" she felt her resolve fading quickly. Nervous butterflies swarmed in her stomach. If she asked what she wanted, his answer may be 'no' and then what would she do?

"Spit it out, already. You never had a problem with that before, Gardner."

She attempted to snarl, but it came out as a frustrated growl. "Don't rush me." She bit her lip, glaring at the ground. _Just ask him for god's sake!_ "I just wanted to know if you want to… hang out," Tèa finished the last words rapidly.

Silence hung in the air.

She waited in anticipation for his answer. Tèa forced her gaze towards him and was surprised - yet secretly pleased – at his unguarded expression. Both seemed stuck in time for a moment. She immediately braced for the worst when his eyelids lowered an inch, redirecting his gaze ahead.

"Hang out; as in with _you_ or with your group?" His voice was devoid of any emotion.

"Just me," she answered. _Say yes. Say yes_.

Rex lifted his chin a notch in consideration. "Maybe."

Tèa didn't want a 'maybe.' Selfish as it is, she wanted a definite answer.

Regaining confidence, she offered, "Tomorrow morning I'll be at Café a la Mode. We can meet there at eleven if you can make it."

His mouth twitched at the corner. "We'll see," was all he said. Then he left.

Tèa blinked, wondering if she should feel happy or disappointed of his answer. She did feel, however, slight amusement at the fact the rain_ ironically_ stopped at the end of their conversation

She heaved a sigh.

There's a fifty-fifty chance Rex would either show up or leave her hanging.

Only tomorrow will tell.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ah, rain, for once it's productive. But really, Rex has gotten smexy in time (in my opinion anyway). And if anyone wants to dispute his 'change' as not realistic I can seriously back that up. If Yugi can 'transform', why not Rex? Need more? I got more, just ask. Moving on, what's got Rex giving the 'holy crap. I just saw a ghost?' I made that part brief because Rex wouldn't actually show too much emotion in front of Tèa just yet (not from what I have planned). And is it just me or did most of his dialogue sound close to Kaiba? Maybe it's because they both don't like Yugi and the gang. Hmm. **

**Still, i did say Rex isn't exactly the same. So, will he show up or not? Tèa gave a pretty good bargain of just the TWO of them. And what's the personal business with the black bandana leader? Oooh, so many freaking secrets! You know what...**

**ME: *pokes head out window* REX! What the hell are you hiding?**

**Tonberry: You're the author; you already know this.**

**ME: Duh, I know. I just want to see if... *spots Rex, laughs gleefully, and runs to glomp him* Alright, now for Kaiba... *dragging Rex with me***

**Tonberry: *sigh* Read and review. Tell us what you think and stay alert for the next chapter. **

**TTFN **

**Tonberry (IBD is still glomped to Rex)**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Alright, I'm back! Sorry for the wait, I got a little stuck in this chapter. I also went back and reread my chapters and saw numerous of freaking mistakes. So, I apologize and checked then rechecked to make sure it won't happen often. what the hell fanfiction! deciding to change all of a sudden. Messed me up completely.**

**browneyes730: **I won't touch on Rex's reasons for not dueling just yet. As for school; yes, he goes but he doesn't have the best attendance record and had an infamous reputation in behavior. And I promise you'll find out what's truly bothering Tea in two chapters. :)

**The Duelist's Heiress**: Glad you stayed along for the ride.

**ME: Alright, same routine. I don't own shit. There, surprised?**

**Warning: Strong language from text and you-know-who's mouth. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four: Hello, Goodbye<strong>

"Welcome to Café a la Mode, are you ready to order?"

"Yes, I would like the brunch special with strawberries as a topping, please." Tèa ordered to the redhead waitress.

"Alright, anything else?" the waitress asked. "Drink refill?" She held up the halfway filled coffee pot. Tèa nodded wordlessly and conveyed a 'thank you' after the extra serving. The redhead smiled and left to tend to other waiting customers.

Tèa sipped her drink, content with the French vanilla flavor. She loved this time in the morning. The café had only a handful of people and usually wasn't busy until later that day, which is why she came early. The polished, white marble tiles gleamed under the sunlight pouring through the windows. Stationed in the back was the counter handled by three or four workers due to the slow hour. On either side were the sugar, creamers, and whatever else needed for food or drinks. Various table sets were placed throughout inside and some outside the café.

By the windows, a row of rose-colored booths sat back to back. Tèa herself was sitting in one of them. She wore a yellow honeycomb tank with a cropped short-sleeved grey jacket covering her upper torso, a faded grey skirt with black leggings underneath and silver ballet flats to complete the look. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail with her bangs pinned back as well. She wore little makeup, only the shimmer of gloss on her lips and foundation.

Silver bangles on her left wrist and a watch on her right were the only jewelry she had on. Tèa took in her reflection in the window, satisfied with the results. Her appearance was flawless.

If one didn't know any better, one would've thought she was on a date.

She glanced at her watch.

10:55.

If Rex decided against coming, then it wouldn't actually dampen her day. It may disappoint her, but like always, Tèa would just finish her time up here and head off to the dance studio. Mostly, the reason of her attire was because of that. Though it occurred to her if he _did_ show up, what the hell would they talk about?

_It won't help to freak out about it. Start simple and go from there_.

The idea sounded easy; she'll be fine as long as she avoided talking about duel monsters… and Joey. Compulsively, she checked the time again.

11:00 on the dot.

No Rex.

Tèa sighed. _There is still time that he may get here._

The waitress arrived with Tèa's order, placing the delicious food on the table. Her nose sniffed the mouthwatering aroma. The stacked pancakes, lightly drenched in syrup, had sliced strawberries arranged in a circle on top creating a 'berry' flower. Scrambled eggs with a croissant were the side dish. She declined the strawberry shortcake to eat for later. (**A/N: ok, it** **sounds like breakfast. However, I never really cared about brunch that much. So just bear with me**)

11:05.

No show.

While only five freaking minutes passed, Tèa found herself occasionally glancing towards the door. Maybe he didn't take her seriously. In fact, why in the world would he trust her _that_ easily? She saw the hesitance on his face when she suggested that they meet.

Tèa took a somber bite of scrambled eggs.

All of a sudden, she wasn't feeling too hungry any more.

11:10.

_Alright, he's not coming._

She couldn't help but feel slightly angry. But at the same time, she really had no right. For one thing, it's not like he could send her a text saying he would be late or not come at all. Second, it was_ her_ that arranged it on such short notice. He possibly had something already planned. The anger directed at Rex turned to disgust at her selfish behavior.

_He_ _has a life of his own, stupid. Didn't he say he had to work?_

She pushed the remaining bits of her meal around with her fork. Sighing, Tèa signaled the waitress back over and asked for her shortcake to be placed in a 'to go' box. The young woman nodded and retrieved the dirty dishes from Tèa. Her coffee was lukewarm, but she didn't care and drank the rest anyway.

One more cup of coffee wouldn't hurt before she heads out.

The bell's ring alerted to the presence of a new customer in the café. In a languor manner, Rex skated past the closing door. He scanned the café, catching Tèa waving him over. Her smile faltered when she took in the exhaustion in his expression and body as he slid in the booth.

"Um, are you okay?" she asked. Concern overrode all of her emotions at that moment. She observed his wet, disheveled hair and half-lidded stare in conclusion that he got up late. Or, at least, didn't sleep at all. Brown eyes were dull and his complexion was so pale that it **screamed **overworked. Tèa resisted the urge to give him a comforting hug, knowing full well he would _not_ appreciate it. "You don't look so good."

To say he awakened from the dead wouldn't even cover it.

"I'm fine." The answer was automatic. In truth, he felt like shit. Rex ended up working a double-shift because the bastard who was supposed to take over for him decided to call in 'sick' last minute. He didn't get off until six that morning, only to go straight to Domino hospital afterwards. "I had to leave the hospital to get home."

Tèa was on full alarm. "Do you need to go back?"

Rex merely blinked. "There's nothing wrong with me. My grandpa is there."

"Oh. Is it serious?"

"No." He mentally cursed Phoenix, who doesn't know the difference of a life threatening situation to save his skin, for calling him to the hospital saying that gramps had some accident. Rex was there for three hours before finding out that the elderly man simply **threw out his back**. To prevent Rex from taking his head off, Phoenix tried to persuade him into going on a date with a cute nurse. Thank God for Gardner because she was his excuse to leave while Phoenix pecked for details. Rex told him nothing. By the time he got home, it was already 10:45 which meant no nap and a rushed shower. He said _screw it_ to finding a shirt and just threw on a polar white fleece jacket and dark jeans. "The person who has to worry about something serious will be my uncle if he calls me again."

Tèa bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. "I think you should eat something," she said gently.

"Not hungry," he muttered. Forget food; what he wanted was to drop and **hibernate**. And possibly later, sue his boss for overworking his employees. "You would have to force feed me in order to do that."

Tèa grimaced. Now that was extreme. And she believed Rex would **never** allow her to feed him. The waitress from earlier returned with Tèa's dessert.

"Okay, here's your cake and the bill," the girl said. Tèa expressed her gratitude and the redhead turned her attention to Rex. She fluttered her eyes. "Is there anything you would like?"

Tèa didn't miss the flirtatious tone and if Rex did, he certainly didn't show it.

"Double shot white chocolate mocha," he responded, not bothering to remove his gaze from the window. The pounding headache was killing him. The waitress' hopeful look deflated but she took his order nonetheless.

Slightly amused, Tèa raised a brow. "I think she was asking for something other than your order."

Raking a hand through his short hair, Rex rested his head on his arm. "I really don't care," he sighed closing his eyes. "Nobody is getting _anything_ from me until I had a nap."

"Then why did you order the mocha?" Tèa questioned.

"Because I can't walk back home half dead looking like death. Falling asleep or passing out in public is a dangerous thing," he said. He opened one eye at her. "This city is filled with crazy people that who will do crazy shit to unconscious people." She shook her head.

"Too much information." He shrugged.

"You asked, I answered." Then he lowered his eyelid shut. After some time, his drink arrived but it was untouched for a while. Tèa savored the bites of her dessert as she took in the sight of her sleeping companion. She wasn't sure at first but the peaceful look on his face told her that Rex was _in fact_ asleep.

She giggled. He looked so adorable, like a little kid. Not that she would admit that aloud, considering it will set off a case of induced rage by said person. Several brown and violet strands fell over the side of his face, his hand still entangled in his hair. Tèa titled her head. If she looked hard enough, with the sun directly on him, she could see a red tinge in those chestnut tresses. **(A/N: my hair does that!)**

This wasn't exactly what she expected of their meeting, however, it seems a sleep deprived Raptor cooperates easier.

"I'm surprised he came," she whispered.

"That's because I didn't think you'd actually be here," he replied, causing Tèa to jump in place.

_I swear he has supersonic hearing._

"No, I don't. I'm sitting right across from you and can still hear what you say even if you're whispering," Rex drawled, not all moving from his resting position.

_Whoa. I said that out loud?_

"Yes, you did."

_**Oops.**_

"I stand by what I said though," Tèa remarked. She straightened in her seat. "When I asked, it seemed you weren't convinced. I wasn't sure if you were going to take me up on my offer."

Finally, he sat up and slumped against the seat. "I didn't think you were serious about getting together," he admitted. Honestly, he thought she lost her mind when she asked him. As crazy as it was, Rex couldn't help but feel slightly curious.

Still, that type of thinking was what usually got him into trouble.

"Well, we're both here now so I believe that proves something," Tèa said pointedly. Rex grunted a reply. To him, it only verified that the cheerleader wasn't lying. That's all. And even still, the reason of his presence was to escape the annoyance of his uncle. Rex did want to know one thing though.

"Why now?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Why now?" Rex repeated. "We've been at each other's throats for years. Why are you so interested in getting to know me_ now_?"

Tèa sat stunned, mentally cursing herself. Of course Rex still harbors some hatred, especially towards Joey most of all, and it was ridiculous of her to think it would disappear suddenly. There was bad blood between them and Rex. Tèa remembered what Weevil had told them during his duel with Yami and how the aftermath of Duelist Kingdom practically **destroyed** them. Joey told her Rex said the same thing and even went as far as saying that 'it was the lowest part of his life.'

_I really didn't think this through, did I?_

_Get a grip on yourself_, that maddening voice in her mind chided. _Show him that past issues are _**not**_ of conflict in this conversation. Divert his attention, Tèa_.

Okay.

"I'm just curious. Ever heard of 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer?'" she finally replied, cheeriness in her tone. At the bored look on his face, she added, "Besides, it's not like we have to talk about my friends. I mean, we got off to a bad start, it can't be helped. There's no use in bringing up things nobody wants to hear. I said that it will be only_ you_ and _me_. That was part of the bargain. I'm not trying to fool you or anything."

"That still doesn't answer my question."

"Then what do you want?"

Rex inclined an inch forward. "What it is exactly that you want from me," he countered callously.

"I want us to be friends, Rex."

"Friends?"

"Yes."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

_Be friends?_ Her request sounded genuine but Rex didn't know what to believe. It had been a long time since someone had asked for that. He was always alone. Either he voluntarily isolated himself or was shunned and rejected by others. Nobody cared enough, so he only depended on himself. He'd grown used to that. Yet Gardner's words were all too tempting; Rex wasn't sure if he should be happy or prepare to keep himself from **losing** his fucking mind if it was a lie.

Rex warred with his conscious unknowing that Tèa was watching. Brows furrowed, she watched him glare blankly at the table. She had hoped to win him over with her small speech; however, it might take a little more convincing.

"I understand your hesitance to accept, Rex." Tèa broke him out of his thoughts and continued on, "but believe me when I say there is no catch. Trust me, the main thing we're getting out of this is a strange new friendship," she quipped to lighten the mood.

_Already starting with lies before you even start, Tèa?_ She quickly stomped on that voice.

"I trust nobody," he stated.

"Surely that isn't-"

He cut her off, "No. And having friends has done absolutely nothing for me. I'm perfectly fine being by myself." _Yeah, keep telling yourself that._

"Everybody needs a friend, Rex."

Rex sighed, wanting so badly to steer away from this conversation. "Isn't it bad to hang out with a rival?"

"I don't see how that would apply considering the majority of my friends, and even **yours**, were rivals," Tèa said. She shrugged, "Even Kaiba would be part of that category if he wasn't so pigheaded."

"How exactly does that work out?" Rex asked. "Kaiba has a sworn vendetta against Yugi."

Tèa smirked at the irony in what he said. "He has no choice. We all go to the same high school." She suddenly pointed at him, "Which reminds me, I thought schools in Domino didn't allow students to have part-time jobs."

"I don't go to school here," he clarified. He crossed his arms, "I live outside of Domino City and my high school is located out of town. If I wanted to come here, it would take a thirty minute drive."

"Why so far out?"

It seemed like a pain to go back and forth in the city, school, work and home.

Rex snorted, "I have no control in where my grandfather wants to live. He prefers the suburban life rather than the city. Domino isn't my hometown so I only come here for work or if I'm bored and I have too much time on my hands."

Dueling was the main reason he usually set foot in the metropolis, nevertheless, that's no longer the case.

_So he wasn't born here?_

"Where is your hometown?" Tèa probed. The admission surprised her greatly.

"Yokohama."**(1)**

"Yokohama? That is on the far east side from here!" she cried. He shrugged.

"I was sent here when I was a kid. Of** all** places to go, I ended up in this dump," he expressed with disdain.

Tèa gawked at him. "Jeez, I detect some hostility in the air. You got a problem with our fair city?"

"Yeah. It sucks," he deadpanned. **(A/N: if you really think about it, it does.)**

"This place has plenty of things that are great. Kaibaland, the Domino museum, and…." She trailed off, not able to remember anything else spectacular. She scowled as he smirked in triumph.

"Stuck are we?" he speculated. "Aside from tournaments and Yugi putting 'our fair city' on the map, there's nothing here."

"If you can't stand it so much, then why not just leave?" Tèa retorted.

"I plan to. I have no desire to stay in this town any longer than I need to. A guy has dreams and I won't get them here," he said confidently.

His comment almost left her speechless. Reaching for your dreams was definitely something she could relate to. She strived for it every day. Deep down, she secretly admired his self-assurance to leave home and go somewhere else without any doubts. New York City was her ideal place to dance but still she was scared about leaving her friends and family behind.

"What about your family?" she voiced.

"My life is my business, not theirs."

"Your grandfather and uncle seem to care." She refrained from mentioning anything more concerning Phoenix. It would raise more questions.

"Those two are a different case." The lightheartedness Rex had earlier suddenly drained from him. Family was a touchy subject.

"And your parents?"

"Look cheerleader," he gritted out. "Understand me when I tell you they have nothing to do with me or whatever the hell I choose to do."

She was treading in dangerous territory that not even Rex wanted to enter.

"How can you say that?" she breathed, eying him with solemn blue orbs.

Rex closed his eyes, hissing under his breath. He **hated** pity looks. She understood _nothing_ about him or his life.

"_Ryuzaki, you_ _realize what has happened, do you not? The reason your mother has done this is all of __**your**__ doing. Everything you touch dies. Everything that relates to you is annihilated. __**You **__**are poison**__. You live only to bear pain and despair onto others without thinking about the consequences of those actions. Your existence leaves nothing but a path of destruction." He laughed coldly, "What have I done to deserve a troublesome, useless child of such __**monstrosity**__?"_

Chocolate eyes snapped open. It felt as if a bucket of ice was dumped on him, his entire body left frozen. _Those words_, he thought bitterly. Those same_ fucking_ words echoed in his mind. Tèa sensed something was wrong; the drop in temperature around them had her almost shivering. An unreadable expression passed over Rex's face.

He chuckled darkly whilst shaking his head slowly, "This isn't going to work."

Before she could even protest, he placed up his money for his drink and proceeded to leave. She hastened to find her money for the bill, rummaging through her purse. Slipping the bills inside the holder, she rushed out the café to catch him. The sad part was that in order to match his long strides (he wasn't even running) Tèa needed to sprint to catch up.

When she stopped in his path, she had to back up in shock… and fear. He held such an intense glare that it looked like his irises had turned **red**. There she stood staring at crimson orbs. For a brief agonizing moment, she was reminded of Atem.

_It may be best to maintain some distance._

Swallowing, she said, "What's wrong with you?"

His lips curled (whoa, where'd he get fangs?) into a malicious smile, "This won't work out, Gardner."

"You said that already. Why wouldn't it work?"

"It's simple, we can't be friends. I work solo, **get it**? Friendship is only for people who can't stand on their own and need others to pick them up," he hissed in a low, dangerous tone.

She gulped. Two words she thought she would never associate with Rex: _menacing_ and **demonic**.

"We were having a fine time just a few moments ago," she pushed stubbornly.

"You caught me in a rare moment. Don't expect it later," he snapped. She winced.

"I don't believe that. You enjoyed our little talk as much as I did," Tèa barked at him. "We didn't jump over the table arguing over stupid duel monsters or what one person did to another. We had an actual conversation. We acted civil. Are you so damn adamant of not even bothering to try this out?"

A gasp escaped her when he leaned down, towering over her in a nonthreatening way.

"You already have a group to look after, cheerleader. Go play mother hen with _them_. I'm not interested." He gazed blankly before narrowing his eyes and snarled, "So. _Fuck_. **Off**."

A pain shot through her chest and Tèa had no idea why it was so hurtful.

She felt like crying on the inside.

A voice called out in the distance, "Hey, Tèa!"

Rex lifted his eyes over her head as she turned. It was Yugi carrying groceries with his grandpa. Solomon, who had only one bag to hold, waved enthusiastically her way.

"That's my cue to leave."

She snapped her head back. "No, Rex, wait."

He said nothing and Tèa made the mistake of taking her own eyes off him to watch the Mutous approach. When she turned back, he was gone.

No trace. Once again, she was confused, lost and alone.

"Good afternoon, Tèa," Solomon greeted.

"Who was that you were talking to?" Yugi asked curiously.

She hesitated. "Someone… I used to know."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Aw, so close and they were doing so well. Also, to understand Rex's height now (since I said it nearly matches Kaiba's) he's at six foot (reason for that too). Tea's height (by series) was 5'6" but I'm pushing to 5'7" (including Yugi who was 5'0" in the series). **

**(1): **I'm not making this up. I read in yugioh wiki that in the Japanese anime, Rex has an Yokohama accent. So guess what? He's from there in this story (I heard the accent in a commercial on youtube. Sounded hot.)

**About his eyes suddenly turning red, I have a reason for that in the next chapter. On that, can you figure out whose words Rex was remembering? It's not Phoenix. In fact, expect a fast update in the next day or two. The next chapter is Phoenix/Rex centric so you know and we get a glimpse of their life and they interact. **

**So, look out for the next chapter - I Become Shinigami (originally I Become Death). **

**Ominous, I know... and it's a little dark somewhat.**

**So, review! And love life!**

**IBD**


	6. Ch 5: Important Notice!

**Okay, so I really didn't want to have to resort to this, but it seems I can't avoid it. As of now, I'm discontinuing my story, **Thorns**. However, I'm not completely getting rid of it. I realized I didn't like the way the story was going so I'm gonna drastically tweak it. That, and I had too much crap going on. I apologize for the lack of updates for it.**

**So, this is my notice that after this I may delete it. The new version will be under **My Porcelain Shadow. **The concept will be somewhat of the same from this original story but with many differences.**

**Yes, I know I'm evil. I'd like to thank the reviewers that reviewed my story, browneyes730 in particular (I will finish the story, don't worry. I'm not going to leave you hanging and I hope you will still be one of my faithful viewers.)**

**Any other questions you may have, you can PM me and I'll do my best to answer or clear up anything.**

**So be on the lookout for the new (version) story and thanks!**

**IBD**


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